Suspected Killer Of Funke Olakunrin, Two Others Test Positive For COVID-19
Ondo State has reported three new positive cases of coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of infections in the state to seven.
The state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, announced this in a series of tweets on Sunday.
He disclosed that one of the new cases was a suspect arraigned in a court in Akure, the state capital on Friday last week.
The suspect was among the four men arraigned at a Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Akure over the killing of Mrs Funke Olakunrin, the daughter of the National Leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.
Governor Akeredolu noted that the Commissioner of Police in the state had been duly informed about the status of the infected suspect, although he did not disclose his identity.
He added that they have begun the line tracing of police officers and others in the facility where the suspect was detained.
The governor stated that the suspect has been isolated from others in detention and would be moved to the Infectious Disease Hospital (IDH) for treatment.
According to him, the police commissioner gave an assurance that the State Command will ensure adequate security of the IDH premises to prevent the suspect from escaping.
Governor Akeredolu’s tweets revealed that Ondo has six active cases of COVID-19 while the index case has since been discharged.
The state has yet to report any death from the disease.
See the governor’s tweets below:
The Commissioner of police has been duly informed and the line tracing of police officers and others in the SARs facility where he was kept has started and their specimens are being collected.
— Arakunrin Akeredolu (@RotimiAkeredolu) April 26, 2020
The suspect has been isolated from others and will be moved to the IDH for treatment. The commissioner of police has assured the state that there will be adequate security around the IDH premises to prevent his escape and while on treatment, he will be manacled to the bed.
— Arakunrin Akeredolu (@RotimiAkeredolu) April 26, 2020
I will expatiate on all cases in my weekly press briefing tomorrow.
— Arakunrin Akeredolu (@RotimiAkeredolu) April 26, 2020
The Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, had announced the arrest of the four suspected killers of Olakunrin in a statement on April 16.
They are Lawal Mazaje from the Felele area of Kogi State, Adamu Adamu from Jada area of Adamawa State, Mohammed Usman from Illela area of Sokoto State, and Auwal Abubakar from Shinkafi area of Zamfara State.
One of the suspects – Abubakar – was arrested on March 4 along the Sagamu-Ore Expressway in Ondo, in a follow-up action on a case of a high-profile armed robbery and kidnap for ransom that occurred in Ogun State.
His arrest led to the arrest of two other members of the gang –Usman and Mazaje – in Benin, the Edo State capital, as well as Adamu in Akure.
During an Identification Parade at the Federal SARS Headquarters in Lagos on April 8, a survivor of the incident that led to Olakunrin’s death identified three of the suspects and gave a clear description of the roles.
